İkizdere resistance: Cengiz Holding says ministry chose site for stone quarry project

Click to read the article in Turkish

Having faced protests over a stone quarry project for weeks now, Cengiz Holding has stated that the site for the quarry was chosen by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.

"Taking into account the environmental impact, all alternative stone quarries have been investigated by the ministry since the start of the process," it said in a written statement today (May 5).

The company has undertaken a logistic center and port project on the Black Sea coast in Rize and the necessary "raw materials" for the project are planned to be obtained from a stone quarry in İşkencedere Valley in İkizdere district.

CLICK - Despite facing resistance from villagers, Cengiz Holding wants to expand İkizdere stone quarry 

CLICK - 'Even birds fall from their nests in trees and die' 

The stone quarry project started in late April following an urgent expropriation decree by President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The decision caused outrage among locals, who have been trying to prevent the project since then, often confronting the gendarmerie.

The company said the ministry had carried out the necessary investigation and chosen the quarry site accordingly.

"We want you to know that our company reviews the opinions of everyone living in that region sensitively and seriously," says the company statement. "After the completion of the production and the supply of the necessary raw material for the port, the rehabilitation of the quarry will be carried out by our company."

It also denied the allegations that it was searching for mines in the quarry area. (TP/VK)